Posts tagged ‘Modena’

A short text with stories, history, news and sarcasm born from some night chatting about disasters and World War Two

My homeland Modena must miss me. Since I moved to Salzburg things started to go pretty bad over there.

We all have to admit that scoring an earthquake (May 2012), two tornadoes (May 2013) and a massive flood (January 2014) in a row really is a huge achievement. (On this blog you can check where the several epicentres of the earthquake were, terremoto, where the tornadoes stroke, tromba d’aria; the flooded area in blue)

There could be many different thoughts I could share on my blog talking of this last disaster. But pouring out my wrath about politicians and administrations would mean simply picturing them in a bad bad bad light, and this is entirely too easy! I have standards too, I cannot lower them further than they are right now. Even though, in that case I would have to start digging, and digging canals and navigations could be useful in this time of flooding. But I am not an engineer, and besides I have a painful spinal disc herniation, so I’d better leave digging for another time.

Therefore, let us focus on another thing: Italian media are ignoring the tragedy .

Many friends of mine on Facebook started sharing a photo published by a NYT blog, called Lens. Comments pointed to the fact that Italian journalism ignored us, while the American press instead apparently took our situation more seriously. Actually, that was not a news but a blog dedicated to photography, therefore the

New York Times Blog “Lens” featuring the Modena flood

enthusiasm should be kept in perspective. Nevertheless one must admit that, although we did not impress the Italian press – outside Modena, of course -, this NYT blog did list “us” among the pictures of the day, as the no. 5 of the 20th January more precisely, among other pretty bad situations all around the world (clashes, bombings, other massive floods).

After sharing this myself, the friend and journalist Gabriele Testi “liked and shared” the “Facebook way” as well, and took the opportunity to check when had been the last time the NYT wrote about the “Secchia river”. It was 1945, and the Allied Armed Forces were marching along the Secchia in order to reach the Po river. Our Modenese sources and memories (including my parents’ ones) about the end of World War Two all mention the marching troops on the Canaletto, a road following for most of its course the river Secchia and leading to the Brenner. Gabriele’s discovery lead us to some night chatting: I was waiting for the pain meds to kick in and could not sleep, he is a journalist and is probably used to covering news and researching facts at night…

(little remark: Gabriele is a male name in Italian!)

The flooded territories are located between two rivers, the Secchia (the one that literally poured out when the levee in one of the north suburbs of Modena broke, and the Panaro. Their courses come closer shortly after the city of Modena, in its immediate northern outskirts (suburbs of San Matteo, Albareto and Navicello), and they flow this close until after Sorbara/San Prospero and Bomporto. The Secchia has flooded all the territories to the river Panaro, thus resulting in a terrible flood also in the before-mentioned town of Bomporto (where, by the way, I used to live prior to my migration to Salzburg). Bomporto is located on the river Panaro and has an old bridge crossing the Panaro itself, connecting Bomporto to Casoni di Ravarino. While chatting with Gabriele on my Facebook account about US troops and Modenese rivers I recalled my researches for the HistoricalDictionary of Modenese Antifascism, which included consulting a huge amount of orders of battle to understand more of some local biographies (partisans fighting here and there, old books reporting things I found a little suspicious or unlikely). Due to my focus, I only went to Berlin and Freiburg to research directly in the archives for German diaries. Nevertheless, I looked up a few second-hand things about the Allied troops as well. So, I stumbled upon the march of the 10th Mountain Division, marching on Bomporto, or better, occupying its bridge, which was considered strategic. These facts are stated, for instance, on this site and even on my not so beloved Wikipedia, where a footnote about the occupation of the Bomporto bridge on the river Panaro leads to “Young, Gordon Russell (1959), Army Almanac: A Book of Facts Concerning the Army of the United States, Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office”.

The real-life Trapp family, the one you probably know from The Sound of Music, escaped to the USA (not to Switzerland), had Italian citizenship and had two boys who were sent to serve in the 10th Mountain Division, Rupert and Werner. According to Maria’s and Agathe’s memories, they were indeed fighting in our territories: Agathe mentions Mount Belvedere, which is between Lizzano in Belvedere and Montese. Montese hosted a well-known battle, where the Brazilian Army fought bravely. Moreover, Montese lies in the upper part of the Panaro valley and drainage basin. I have absolutely no evidence that the two Trapp boys entered Bomporto on that April day in 1945 but somehow I can picture them descending with their division the paths leading through Marano, Vignola, Castelfranco, Nonantola to Bomporto. Who knows if they did? Well, I would know how to find out this, but unfortunately I have other projects scheduled as soon as my herniation gets better, so this particular inquiry will have to wait. (About the Trapp family, Maria A. Trapp, The story of the Trapp Family Singers, and Agathe von Trapp, Memories before and After The Sound of Music, as well as their official website).

What is the moral of this story?

Mr Sheffield: And the moral of the story is?

Fran: Everything has to have a moral? What am I, Mother Goose?

(Yet another quote from “The Nanny” on this blog, episode 2.17 “The Will”)

Well, my herniation tells me I am starting to morph into Mother Goose, so here are a few reasons I wrote this story:

– This is an interesting story following a sort of a stream of consciousness with punctuation, a flood of memories brought to us by three things: a flood, my unpaid occupation as an historian and some strong pain meds. No science, just some storytelling here for entertainment purposes, which is something many blogs do, and you will agree with me that this is quite pleasant, especially for curious people like me. I also know that tags such WWII, Bob Dylan, Trapp, Sound of Music, The Nanny will attract people! And this leads to the other reason:

– I would hope to draw some attention on this troubled land and raise some awareness about the situation: yes, it is my personal affection and concern since I was born and raised there, my family and friends are still there. But it is also a land which used to contribute alone to the 1% of the Italian GDP before the earthquake and which is slowly dying due to the stubbornness of the government and of the local administrations, neither granting any tax free time range nor investing in the local reconstruction. Instead, they focus on other “investments” I would not be proud of. But this is an issue I would not like to address. This land produces a lot of fine eno-gastronomic specialities, excellent biomedical technologies, beautiful cars, and moreover hosts exquisite architectural and artistic treasures. I assure that a visit to our Province would not disappoint you if things were a little more…normal, you know?

If it keep on rainin’ the levee gonna break
If it keep on rainin’ the levee gonna break
Everybody saying this is a day only the Lord could make

[I know, I should be writing about Bob, who is coming to Salzburg…unfortunately, it is quite difficult to enjoy the waiting after the earthquake in my Modena. I only promise I will be there in the Salzburg Arena and enjoy the concert!

I would like to introduce two young artists and their solidarity projects to you ! Ich möchte zwei junge Künstler und ihre Solidaritätsprojekte euch vorstellen! Vorrei presentarvi due giovani artisti ed i loro progetti di solidarietá.

You can break up our land but not out courage – Du kannst unser Land brechen, unseren Mut aber nicht.

Alex Fioratti is an artist from Mantua who worked for several years in Ferrara. Right after the severely damaged Province of Modena, which lists as number one among the most affected territories, Mantua and Ferrara are the “second” most hit by the May earthquake provinces.

He developed and donated what I believe it is among the most beautiful image about the tragedy. Now there is a t-shirt you can buy. It has been named “The courage of Emilian people” and is the medium for a fundraising action from which several volunteer associations will benefit. (Official press release by the Modenese voluntary and humanitarian services association here in Italian and here in English)

Industries, shops, farms are closed due to damages or even destructions and thus we are not able to work in order to pay for repairing or rebuilding using our own wages. Industrien, Geschäfte und Bauernhöfe sind aufgrund der Schaden oder sogar der Zerstörungen geschlossen und deswegen können wir nicht arbeiten, um das Geld zum renovieren oder wiederaufbauen zu verdienen.

Parmigiano-Reggiano from the Province of Modena/aus der Provinz Modena (especially/besonders Mirandola, San Felice sul Panaro, Finale Emilia, Camposanto, Ravarino, San Possidonio, Cavezzo, Medolla) and from the Municipalities of/und aus der Gemeinden San Giovanni in Persiceto and Crevalcore. I should get in touch with some farmers who should deliver, so just comment here to show your interest. Ich sollte einige Bauern kontaktieren, die liefern können dürften, so einfach hier kommentieren, um in Kontakt zu treten. >>>This production is experiencing an EMERGENCY!!! Diese Produktion ist in NOT!!!<<< Photogallery damages/Schäden http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.437074152984163.103877.100000447450493&type=3

A nice blog whose concept says: ” In a time of crisis and problems we believe that Italy can manage her way out of troubles by using her human and natural resources, the beauty of her territory, the richness of her products”. Great idea! It features many proposals from the damaged territories: http://sosblogger.wordpress.com/

I am able to work with several groups on location(I plan to travel home on the 19th June). Especially people living around Salzburg could comment here in order to get in touch with me/Ich kann mit verschiedenen Gruppen vom Ort aribeiten (Ich habe geplant, am 19. Juni heim zu fahren).Besonders Personen aus dem Raum Salzburg könnten hier kommentieren, um mit mir in Kontakt zu treten.

Some information about helping several autonomous camps in the city of Rovereto sulla Secchia

p) If you live in Germany, you may consider this opportunity. The city of Ostfildern has a partnership with Mirandola and therefore opened a dedicated account/Wenn Sie in Deutschland leben, können Sie vielleicht diese Möglichkeit wahrnehmen. Die Stadt Ostfildern hat eine Partnerschaft mit Mirandola und hat deswegen ein Konto eröffnet:

5th April 2012: in the morning, supporters, fans, ultras are already setting up the party!!! In the evening: the party is up!

100 years without interruption, bankruptcy and always with our glorious canary-yellow tricot!!!!

Poster-Manifesto-Plakat

Modena F.C. was born at the end of the “Belle Epoque”and in the middle of the radicalisation of the Italian society during the Italian-Turkish war, from the union of two pre-existing teams. It was still the former capital of the Duchy, now a small town in the Kingdom of Italy with scarce industrialisation, where the petty bourgeoisie “ruled” the whole city. This petty bourgeoisie was also the main agent in the foundation of this football club (university students and military personnel included). Only after the Second World War the “people” would come nearer to this “gentlemanly” born sport, and during the Seventies even left-oriented symbols made their appearance among fans :-). Time can change everything, indeed!

A few days after the foundation, tragedy struck – as if the ongoing Libya war and the other prodromes of the First World War showing up in other parts of the world were not enough – : the “unsinkable” Titanic did sink in the Atlantic, bringing along more than 1500 lives.

Back to today, a lot of us fell in love with the team wearing “our” colours, and prove it every week-end by supporting the team at the Braglia or on-line ( as some of us had to migrate somewhere else…).

I never got to go to the stadium before my 18th birthday (my parents did not agree with terrace culture, so I wasn’t allowed to go) but I used to live near to the Braglia and my parrish church was right behind it. So I remember a lot of “nice things” from the ultras and fans during the 80s and the 90s…such as protests, running away from the police and hiding in the parish locals …I finally bought my first ticket in 2000 or 2001. I saw a match in the 3rd league. I later got to see the Second and even the First league with my “canaries”, but Serie A never raised the same warm and gemütlich feelings in me I still connect to my 3rd League memories: authenticity and family-like environment, probably a different society (the world changed a lot between the 90s and the 2000s). Even though I was there when Modena defeated Roma in Rome in 2002 or 2003! 🙂

If you love your home town, its cuisine, its language, its warmth, its beauty, you have to love your local team as well!!! My love for my Modenese essence matches my love for our colours. even though I also love the so called ultras mentality, a misunderstood way of life that deserves to be discovered (putting aside stereotypes and prejudices) and that opens the door to real passion and friendly ties.

Once again I abandon my policy of writing in English. At least for now, because I really don’t have the time to write also in EN and DE. Here it goes: somebody is spreading voices about genocides…that never happened! People should learn history, politics and languages THEN write….but nowadays you just need an account et voilà…tip everything you want!

One of the things I do for living (being Italian grants for studying, well, rather of the non-existent type…and being Austrian ones off limits for me unless I marry one of them…which is not going to happen soon…) is translating into Italian from English/German and teaching Italian. I teach privately or in small groups; I teach children, teens and adults. Some of them follow a real course, some others just take the so-called repetitions or want to deepen their knowledge.

There are many stereotypes about the Italian language and Italians. I totally agree: our language sounds very beautiful. But… every “beautiful” thing brings a sort of curse with itself, a “but” (exactly: how did I begin this sentence?). Many teachers or trainers, including myself, develop strategies in order to avoid or postpone real difficulties in learning. Intuitive learning, learning by heart, imitating, simplifying…

The “but” is very simple: although many people come to “us” with passion, interest and love, they face a lot of difficulties. For German-speaking people this is particularly awkward. Being our neighbours and among our biggest admirers, they idealise Italy and Italian, they often hear things they interpret freely or read/hear horrible commercials with mistakes, thus originating what I call “Kartoffel-Italienisch”, potato-Italian. (Not that Italians don’t eat potatoes: Kartoffel is simply one of the words normally associated with German-speaking people in the Italian popular culture and this seemed to me a good counterpart for the term indicating the equally horrible “Macaroni-Deutsch”, macaroni-German). Somehow they are lead to think that German is one of the most difficult languages in the world because many people complain about the wide use of declension. These complaining people never heard about Russian or Polish (as far as I know). Of course German is far more difficult that English. Also, possibilities to practice Deutsch are less than for the simpler Germanic brother. For example: no one would watch a TV show in German (I know I don’t. It really hurts: the dubbing is pretty horrible. Sorry, folks 🙂 ). Getting friends is very difficult and one gets confined in the “acquaintances-zone” for… I still don’t know how long. I got to know other Italians living here now, after four years…and they had to settle for having Italian friends. I was quite stubborn and clever and stayed away from my “fellows”, so my German is very good and I even understand dialects. (Nevertheless my proofreader says I write very poorly. I agree: I find German too strict to use creativity in writing and I get bored. But I love speaking it, especially the Austrian variant!).

Italian is quite anarchist. No V2 language, flexible order in the sentence, just a few correlation clauses (example: negative particle non before the verb. But verb? It depends…). This really makes learners freak out. Where do I put the word? And in case they are having a conversation and they did not develop a “ear” for the intonation, which I call “melody”: Was that an affirmation or a question or what? For advanced learners, the matter also becomes what order do I need to mean this and not that? I am currently trying to study the problem of using “anche” and “solo” (auch/ebenfalls/sogar; nur = also/as well; only). It seems that most Italian learners find difficult to place these words in the proper position, unless they are exposed to native speakers/writers a lot and “forced” to communicate back. Hearing an “anche” in the wrong place makes me feel the same as when somebody scratches his/her nails over a blackboard.

The article. There are several forms for each genus. There are mixed forms which combine prepositions and article (thus “replacing” the German declension, actually…).

Intonations, fast talking, accents and dialects, regional use of words in different meanings.

Verbs. Even though most learners will never learn all forms, you have to believe me: Italian “outnumbers” German (tenses, moods, desinences). Not to mention the strict consecutio temporum…

Adverb vs. Adjective. Many people never learn the difference…which is crucial in Italian, because adjectives always need agreement (adverbs do not, adjectives in German only if attributive) and the adverb is in most cases a different word.

Of course, no one should scare the hell out of people by listing difficulties with a threatening tone before even starting the course. At the same time, saying that everything is fine and that there won’t be any problem is a terrible lie one can maybe tell if doing a course “Italian for travel”, where the learner just learns by heart/imitation. Pupils who are going to learn Italian for five years or people who seriously consider developing intermediate/advanced skills, maybe even a certificate, won’t move forward if they are not aware of these things.

So, dear teacher/trainer/whatever, it’s up to you! 😉 And you can, if you want!

Native Italians often have a nice way of making humour, feature good entertainer skills: these things motivate learners. I am certainly the case and I also have a lot of funny stories to tell during pauses. Even though people with real problems don’t like me (a pupil openly requested not to be in my class because I smiled too much, I made jokes and wanted to communicate with everybody. The kid showed a lot of signs of “something going on”, even though I am not a professional in psychology or psychiatry. Insecure people also feel more unsecured if confronted with humour.). People with problems need help and if your smile and your “I am here for you” attitude wont’ help, it just mean you can’t do anything for them. So, don’t be frustrated and move on. Focus on those who really want to get in touch with the language and let the door open for you. If you are in a school, ask for a professional´s support. If you are not a native, keep in touch with natives (internet, social networks, friends and so on).

Go on with intuitive and “simple” learning as long as it is possible, explain grammar only after having showed practical application. On the other side, you will need to be very detailed and prepared when it is time to “reveal” the complicated and boring matter ( that is, grammar rules), especially the first 4-5 handbook units are gone (or you are beginning the past tenses).

If you are a native speaker, be aware of your own culture, accent and intonation (mostly products of your city or town) and confront your pupils/students with other perspectives. CDs, articles about other cities, provinces or regions should accompany a nice explanation of “your own Italy” or even “Italies” if you lived in more cities. I wrote a short script to complete the unit about eating and ordering at the restaurant by showing some of the main differences between German-speaking and Italian-speaking countries, among North, Centre and South and among cities. This way my students have the necessary instruments to go on with the dictionary and with real-life Italian people without making common mistakes caused by standardized and/or stereotyped knowledges and without having a travel-size Felicita with them. I started writing it as I read the website of the “Community of Italian teachers and learners of Salzburg“: some students of the Italian studies institute started observed the difficult translations of “dolce”(dessert) into German. I also noted myself some mistakes by my students and a lot of common misunderstandings. The result was a nice script about eating, ordering and cooking. I also use the CD when there is something to memorize and try to highlight the difference between the mainly Southern pronounce and intonation used in the tracks and the mild to strong Modenese issues I will never get rid of ( I can control some of them but I am not going to get rid of them 100%. Why should I anyway? Dialects are cultural richness!). Once again, if you are not a native, keep in touch with real Italy and real Italians.

As soon as you notice an interest for “translating” or a compulsive need to translate each word from the book or from the blackboard (many of the students do), be very open about the fact that you cannot simply “pour from a language into the other”. Most of the time a correct translation needs rewording, reformulating and so on. If the students feel that it is a good exercise (also to improve their mother tongue), it is OK. If they just do it to “learn better”, try to steer them away from this habit. I am tolerant only with adults who have very little time to attend and learn and feel insecure, but I have been very open about the implications. My example about “I speak Italian” seemed to work: I explained that parlo l´italiano would sound in German “spreche den Italienischen“, but of course you say “ich spreche Italienisch”.

Turn yourself into a nice, stylish, environment-friendly but nevertheless effective bulldozer and get rid of: misspellings, mispronunciations, stereotypes, urban legends perpetuated by advertisement, commercials, tales created by people who have little or no idea about what Italy and Italian are (or Italians who sold a false image of Italy for reasons I do not want to know, or like stereotypes as well). Of course, you will have to use all of your communication skills in order to avoid looking unsympatisch. Also note that many people build their “love for Italy” or “inner security” on these few “facts”, so make sure that you provide new knowledges and sources for interest, love, culture, building a new inner security. The point about “inner security” could seem stupid to many but it is not. Let me explain it. One will be confronted with people who are insecure, sooner or later, in life or in the class. If you are a good observer and able to get in touch with others, you will notice how devastating removing a stereotype could be if the person has insecurity issues. Similarly, people who are in love with certain “Italian images” could react in an unpleasant way unless you give them simply new reasons to love f.i. Forte dei Marmi, Jesolo, Riccione, il Gargano.Remember: you teach Italian language and culture (and not stereotypes and a mixture of esperanto and Italian). Your tasks are teaching the best you can, making the “customer” happy (somebody hired you, even though this does not sound nice…) and open new communications channel (this also balances the previous economic point with a warm human level). By the way, I am a black and pink biofueled bulldozer with silver glitter 🙂

Practical examples: why are these suggestions so useful – in my humble opinion-?

This example fits both German and English native speakers. Currently, an awful commercial about a pizzeria in Northern Flachgau can be heard on a local radio station. The commercial ends with the awful sentence”Pizzeria XXX ist molto bene“. Now, this horrible mistake is the typical example of people who have no idea of the difference between adverb and adjective. If you describe the pizzeria through the verb essere (sein, to be) you will need an adjective, because pizzeria is a noun, singular and female. The matter is: the adjective gut/good used in the predicative clause does not change or differ from the adverb. The adjective buono always needs agreement (Italian language) and differs from the adverb bene. So, possible correct forms would be: 1) Pizzeria XXX ist (= is, è) molto buona (adj. used predicatively) 2) Pizzeria XXX ? Molto bene! (this solution would imply a non-spoken question such as “are we going there” or even a statement such as “going to pizzeria XXX” if you replace the question mark , so one could answer by commenting the action of choosing the pizzeria or simply commenting the action, thus allowing the adverb). Of course, the average learner of Italian cannot come to this conclusion if not guided, as in every case the English/German form would be very good/sehr gut.

I always get questions or comments concerning olive trees (Modena has no Mediterranean climate! They would freeze!), snow (same as before, so, yes, it snows. Of course not as much as in Salzburg, but it does), sea (we are far away from the sea!), hair-skin-eyes issues. You cannot imagine how lame it sounds, even to me, and I love chatting with people. How would you react if you heard people saying that f.i. all Austrians wear Lederhosen, all Germans are Nazis, all Americans eat hamburgers all the time? Modena has a continental climate, the Province reaches from the Po river to the Apennines (thus having also mountains), there is no sea. Our traditional cuisine is based on pork and pork fat, secondly on butter. Olive oil was imported along with other Southern or “standard” types of pasta, such as the dry pasta. Our traditional pasta is more of the”fresh pasta” type, more similar to the Austrian kind (yes, Austrians have their own Nudel too, talking of stereotypes!), except for the spice usage. The plain parts are often covered with fog during the autumn, the winter and early spring. It rains a lot during the year, it can snow. You can find black, dark brown, light brown, dark blonde, light blonde hair. You can find any kind of eye colour and complexion (as in Austria and Germany, former Empires, as in GB or USA). I am a dark brunette with pale complexion and some sprinkles on the nose and I don’t get a serious tan, no way. Still, I met people who believe we all have black hair (yes, even in 2012 with free libraries, cinema, internet and so on…) and told me my hair would be black (which is not, especially since I am constantly wearing a lot of black things and the comparison makes the difference striking. My eyebrows and eyelashes are black and are different too). Don´t get me wrong, I still love people 🙂 but sometimes the matter becomes boring and one would prefer talking about other things!

So, for the first part, enough (editing possible if I see mistakes or bad forms)! What do you think? Agree or disagree? Am I too strict? 🙂 Want to share your opinion?, even if you teach another language or if you are a learner, a translator, an interpreter?

Like this:

24th March 1982. A proud woman gave birth to her second daughter (and third child). She had to fight to give the daughter her surname. Having a child outside marriage, giving the child the mother’s name, raising a child alone….well, this was not that common during the 80s in Italy. But that woman survived the Second World War (where her own mother died) and she was not scared by the whole situation.

Somehow that woman managed to go on. Here I am, bearing my mother’s name, raised by a supplementary foster family and still trying to get something “normal” in this life! (“normal” has to be abolished, as far as my vocabulary is concerned…)

Being “abnormal” or “paranormal” is probably the reason why I am such a living earthquake, full of passion, always louder than allowed. Or, at least, I like thinking that this is the reason.

It is my 29th birthday. My twenties are coming to an end. I know: I managed a lot, coming from a difficult family background (including violence and boarding school). Still, I am not satisfied. I am trying to hurry my dissertation to get my Ph.D. I am trying to understand where I have to be and how, what mission I have to accomplish. I am searching for something.

But the main reason I am writing this for is to thank many people. I finally learned to enjoy the journey – even it is not exactly going the way I wanted to – and I recognised I have to thank many of you for having taken part.

Thanks, mami. I would have never done what you did. Nevertheless I would not be here without you. I know it is hard to have me in Salzburg. I am sorry. I had to try it.

Thanks mami nr. 2 and papi. For everything. I owe you everything.

Thanks, schoolmates of any grade. I still remember any of you. Really.

Thanks, friends from the compagnia Cittadella. You would not believe how much I miss the time we used to be always together.

Thanks old friends. Maria, whom I don’t see that much any more but I still remember. Francesca, who is still here.

Thanks, friend from the BA in Bologna and the MA in Modena.

Thanks, friends from Modena. Politics? Music? Whatever? We shared so much and sometimes we still share a lot.

Thanks, friends from the Curva Montagnani and Braglia stadium. I am looking forward to seeing you again in a few hours. Sharing a passion and our pride is a strong connection. Many will not understand, but we do.

Thanks, many thanks, Nicola. I am still sorry, believe me, but it was the right decision. Anyway I owe you a lot and we shared a lot. This is the reason why you have your own thank you, even before others I really care for a lot.

Thanks Alice. You are one of the nicest people I have ever met. Entering a “true” job was not that easy but your smile helped me very much. When I am lacking motivation I recall your remarks. It really works! Looking forward to seeing you in the next days.

Many thanks. Florian. In the first place, because you were sitting in the “wrong” seminar ( because I am sure you think of it that way;-)!). In the second place, because you talked to me. You cannot believe how hard it was being alone in Salzburg and trying to talk and to be heard. There is so much I would have to thank you for. I will never forget what you did. (which can also sound like a threat…).

Many thanks, Sylvia. You have been my only friend in Salzburg for some months. I still miss you.

Many thanks, Marty, for being humorous, almost as irreverent as myself, and an historian as well.

Thanks, Fabio and Francesco. How did you manage to work with me? I am still wondering about it…

Many thanks, Vicky. I found a person who deeply cares for both appearance and soul, as I do. None of us would have believed we could become friends, at the beginning… 🙂

Many thanks, Marie. I know now I am not the only one who is “arrogant” in Salzburg 😉 !

Many thanks to you all for sharing a minute, a day, some months or years, a seminar or a flat, for fighting with me. It was all part of the journey. And believe me, I don’t remember you with rage or hate, even if we almost killed each other.

I finish with a self dedicated video, a sweet saccharine song from the 80s (oh, how I would like to turn back the time and to be 29 in 1988…:-( ) and another song from the 80s I would like to post to celebrate my birthday.

Kyrie eleison, down the road that I must travel
Kyrie eleison, through the darkness of the night
Kyrie eleison, where I’m going will you follow
Kyrie eleison, on a highway in the light

This is, of course, a huge headache for many of my friends and many acquaintances I somehow got all around the world, mainly in small Salzburg. The city of the Sound of Music hosts me for the Ph.D. and was not exactly prepared to be confronted with such a proud, humorous, loud, attached to (her own) tradition Modenese “Karriere-Hausfrau“. Stereotypes about Italians and commercialisation of a standardized kind of culture and products from Italy prepared an environment as cosy as Carso trenches for me… I am lucky that the Salzburger were and are quite open to the idea of drinking Lambrusco wine and eating a lot of pork (they cook a lot of pork dishes too).

One of my favourite series, The Nanny, featured an episode delivering some lines I somehow found familiar as soon as I heard them(The Passed-Over Story). Recently I was finally able to see the episode in English and I got to appreciate these lines and to match them with my experience; in the Italian broadcasting I used to watch around year 2000 the Fine family was changed into an Italo-American family and therefore the whole situation changed. Here the lines:

Niles: Sylvia has invited us over for the Jewish holiday.Maxwell Sheffield: Now, is this the holiday Miss Fine said you can’t eat all day, then stuff yourself? Or the one where you light candles, then stuff yourself? Or the one where you build a straw hut, then stuff yourself?Niles: I believe it’s the one where you hide crackers from small children, then stuff yourself.Maxwell Sheffield: Ah, Passover.

Yes, definitely. Modenese do stuff themselves for holidays as well ( and birthdays, and weddings, and First Communions, and Confirmations, and Graduations…). We 1) dress ourselves up 2) eat a lot 3) drink a lot of Lambrusco wine (to digest all the pork and fat…) 4) most of us, especially young people, have to be loud, dance and so on.

I still remember the first group of Salzburger visiting me in Modena (September 2009) telling me that on their “free” evening they had to order a cheeseburger with fries at the Irish Pub I left them in, because they “could not manage to eat Modenese once more, it’s too fat (I had a family dinner, my father’s birthday. If I recall exactly: tortellini, roasted pork and potatoes, wine, a lot of desserts. Ended up in a whole family widening belts in the living room. The only difference with the Fine family? We are Catholics). That is why I immediately connected Niles and Maxwell with my own Austrian friends and I imagined them having the same discussion as the two Englishmen in New York. “What are they commemorating today? Oh, and what do they do? Go to mass then stuff themselves? Or sing something then stuff themselves? Or exchange presents after stuffing them selves?”.

Our cellar with a battery of barrels for Balsamic vinegar

What does the world know about people from Modena? A journalist and friend of mine, Gabriele Testi, once told me: “tDo you know? The most famous Italian in the world are Luciano Pavarotti – from Modena – , Enzo Ferrari – guess what? from Modena! – , Benito Mussolini – not from Modena but from Predappio” which – I explain – is, I believe, an hour and a half drive from us. As an historian I can also tell you that he used to be quite active in Modena before he became the Duce. Nevertheless – Gabriele quickly remarked and concluded – only a few really know where Modena is and what we are.

I travelled and travel a lot. Furthermore, I know people from all around the world. I am also currently teaching Italian as a private teacher. This gives me the opportunity to tell my “pupils” that Italy has many sides (as Austria does, actually! And Germany…as well! and…and…). For many of them it is easy to listen and get interested in all those different dialects, cuisines, aspects. Others are quite surprised. Some are quite shocked and cannot believe they just got some commercial stereotype made up to sell them a pre-packed image: it takes a while until they agree that there is no way whole Italy can be the same from the Austrian border to Africa. A few even reacted bad, almost pissed-off. I somehow destroyed their dreams (!), or they felt insulted. (I should have been insulted for being sold as liar, or as stupid and ignorant, and for not being able to insult people better than that. I can be much more hasty and nasty!!!).

note: I am constantly integrating the text, so it will change often. I will be pleased if you notice typing errors (I always do them…) or if you are a native speaker and have suggestions to make my sentences better!